Wrench



Apr. 3, 1923 1,450,224

F. S. RATCLIFFE WRENCH Filed June 5, 1920 Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

UNITED STATES" PATENT orrlcsfi- FRANK S. RATCLIFFE, F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN; IRA JONES; ADMINISTRATOR DECEASED, ASSIG'NOR TO EMILY 'RATCLIFFE, OF

0F .SAID FRANK S. RATCLIFFE, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

WRENCH.

Application filed me 5, 1920. Serial m. 386,907.

To-aZZ whom it may concern: r

Be it known that I, FRANK S. RATOLIFFE,

a citizen ofthe United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l/Vrenches; and I do hereby'declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof. I

0 My invention relates to new and useful improvements in wrenches for turning nuts,

bolts or other work objects, and more particularly of that type including a pair of slidably, connected jaw carrying shanks,

having means for locking the shanks against relative movement in selective relative positions thereof, whereby to procure proper en gagement of the jaws with the faces of the work object. a 1 I It is primarily the object of my invention to provide a commercially practical wrench of this character, which may be operated in a most convenient and rapid manner, and to this end it is more specifically my, object to provide a wrench wherein the locking mechanism for the jaw shanks is automatically operative in the working stroke of the wrench, and inoperative in'the retracting stroke of the wrench to procure a freshgrip on the work provided for automatically urging the 'aws to snug engagement with the wrench aces of the work object, thus providing for an exceedingly ready initial adjustment of the wrench for the size of work object on which it is to operate, and providing for an automatic pump action of the wrench on the work member in turning the same, whereby to procure the operative advantages of the 4 ratchet tyne of wrench, avoiding the necessity of removing the wrench from the work object upon'eac-h turning impulsewhen operating in a restricted space.-

B81119 cognizant of the severe conditions of structure which must be satisfied in the provision of a. toolfof'this' character, it is an important object of my inventionto provide a structure embodying ,the aforerecited advantages, which comprises a minimumnum- 5 ber of parts, and which has its major parts so. arranged as to 'avoid the occurrence of any weak points in the structure of the wrench under the stresses to whichit would be subjected in use, and wherein the mechaobject, and wherein. means is nism of the wrench is entirely housed by the natural dispositionof its parts. i

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, my invention particularly in the'novel combinatiom formation and arrangement ofparts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed *out in the appended claims. I

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional View through a wrench embodying my invention; ig. 2 is a transverse sectional view therethrough on a plane indicated by the line 2- 2 of Fig. 1; V i

F i'g. .3 is a transverse sectional view therei through onja plane indicated by thefl-line Referring now more particularly to the resides more accompanying dra-wings,the wrench therein shown, and constituting one embodiment of my invention, which is adapted morep'articularly for the general uses of the ordinary monkey wrench, comprises a tubular. body shank 5 which is oblong in cross section, and

has a laterally'extending' jaw *6 formed integrally atone end. The wider sides of the body shank are extended at the'other end thereof to provide pivot ears for the inner end portion of a handle 7, said innerend portion of the handle being shaped 'to fit therebetween and to close the adjacent'end of the channel of the body shank. The handle'is connected with'the ears by a large pivot bolts, which'i's' 'suflicientlylarge to meet the shearing stresses imparted thereto in the operation of the wrench, 'and this pivot "bolt islocated at one side of the axis of the body shank. .Th'einnercorners of the handle member are adapted to abut the adj acent ends of the narrowersides of the body shank, and thus restrict the pivotal-movement of the handle member within a relatively small range, A shank 9 f is slidably mounted within thethe outer end of said shank, and this slid able shank carries a aw 10 cooperating with the jaw 6, for engaging the opposed wrench faces of a work object. The slidableshank 9 is provided with a longitudinal channel tubular shank 8 from 11 extending from its inner-end toa point adjacent its outer end, this channel 11 thus communicatingwith thechannel of'the body section 5, and disposed in said channels isa one end secured in the outer end of the channel of the slidable shank and jaw, and has its other end connected with the body shank preferably by attachment to the inner end of the handle 7 this "latter point ofa ttachment being disposed atone sideof the pivot axis of the handle. Thus, the work engaging jaws of the wrench are resiliently urged together for proper snug engagement with the faces of a work member to which the wrench may be placed. v

For holding the shank member's against relative outward movement'when desired to thus procure the wrench action, the inner surface o-f the body shank 5 adjacent the 1 jaw 6 is recessed at 13,1said recess extending in the present instance into the jaw, and this recess is provided with an oblique cam surface which is afforded in the present instance by a wear plate le of hard metal set into the recess. The opposed side face of the slidable shank 9 is suitably hardened to proyide a coacting clutch surface, and disposed in the recess for engagement with this clutch surface are a pair of rollers 15 which are mounted on a. pin 16 connected with the outer end of a spring arm 17 which extends longitudinal of the body shank through a groove 18 in the adjacent inner face of the body shank, said spring arm being secured 1 to the corner portion ofthe handle member which is remote from its pivotal axis. The permitted degree of pivotal movement of the handle member 7 is su ch with respect to its connection with the arm 17, that, when the handle is rocked in a clockwisedirection, the arm 16 will withdraw the rollers from the clutch surfaces, thus rendering the clntch inactive, and permitting the sliding jaw 9 to be drawn outwardly against the action of the spring 12, andwhen the handle 7 is swung in a counter-clockwise direction, itwill engage the rollers with the clutch surface to thus rencer the clutch eflective to prevent outward movement of the sliding shank, the resilience of the spring arm 17 serving to, insure this snug engagement of the rollers for the clutch action.

Thus, in operation of the wrench, the handle? and the ja-whea-d of the sliding shank. may be grasped, and these parts drawn apart to engage the wrench on'a nut or other object to be turned, the jaws springingtogether to engage the work when the parts are released. Rocki ng movement of the handle 7 will first insure engagement of the rollers with the clutch surface, andthe sliding shank being thus held, continued turning pressure on the handle will effect the turning operation ofthe wrench. In reverse movement, toprocure a fresh gripon the work object, a reverse pressure will be imparted to the handle with the jaws still remaining about the work object, and the clutch rollers will be retracted from their clutching position, and the wrench then turned idly about the work object, the slidableshank' moving into and out of the body shank under influence of the spring to provide fol-proper engagement withvth'e wrench faces of the work object in effecting the succeeding turning movement.

' I have thus provided an exceedingly simple, strong and efficient wrench which is capable of reciprocating operation in the manner of the ordinary ratchet wrench, yet which is instantly adaptable for any size of work object within a general range.

"At the same time, the presentwrench may be advantageously applied to anyo'f the'uses of "the ordinary monkey wrench, and is instantly adjustable for any desire'd s'ize of work object,

The present wrench st-ructure f eliminates various of the parts heretofore employed 'in standard wrenches, and employsa'n equally simple, instantl operable adjusting means. All 'of'the working parts of "the wrench completely housed by their natural disposition within the tubular body shank 5 which forms acasin'g, and my improved wrench i i in nature, beiiig.'free fromliability of breakage of minor parts- Attention is also p r,

7 will thus prove exceedingly durable ticularly directed to 1 3 fact that the three major wrench parts, that is, "the hbjdy shank,

sliding shank and hanlle are connected in such'manner as to procure adequate" strength to meet the severest conditions of use'to which a wrench would be subjected, and it is further noted that the sliding'shank is posi tively held by the ciajnnel surface of the body shank against movement inany lateral direction, and hence, transverse stresses ap' plied,as in h'amniering, to the slid-able jaw, would not affect the holdig mechanism for thejaw shank. V

'While I have shown and 7 described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that the novel principles'embodiedmay be carried out a number of forms, and that the present st-ru oture is to be treated merely as one en} emplification of'my inventionfandthat vetrious changes and modifications of structure and arrangement may be employed to meet diiferent conditions of use and manufacture, without departiiig in' any manner spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. A wrench comprising a pair of slidably s ls i iifks ears said means be ng reotal movement of the handle, and means for normally urging the jaws of the said shanks together.

2. A wrench comprising a tubular body shank, a work engaging jaw carried thereby, a shank slidab-le in the tubular body shank, a work engaging jaw carried by said slidable shank, a handle carried by the tubular body shank and having limited lateral movement with respect thereto, and lock means including a member adapted for .wedging engagement with the sliding shank, said means being operable by movement of the handle. a

4. A wrench comprising a tubular body shank, a jaw carried thereby, a shank slidably connected with the body shankand provided with a longitudinal channel communicating with the channel of the body shank, a retractile spring extending in the channels of both shanks and connected at its ends with the shanks, a handle connected with the end of said body shank remote from the jaw carried thereby and having a limited movement with respect thereto, and means for holding the sliding shank against movement with respect to the body shank uponmovement of the handle in one direction and for permitting movement of said sliding shank with respect to the body shank upon movement of the body shank in a reverse direction. 7 5. A wrench comprising a tubular body shank, a jaw carried by said shank, a. shank slidable in one end portion-of the body shank, a jaw carried by said slidable shank, a handle pivotally connected with and closing the other end of the body shank, means yieldably urging the sliding shank to movement into the body shank, and

means operable by pivotal movementof the handle for the shanks.

6. A wrench comprising a tubular 'body shank, a jaw carried by said shank, a shank slidable inc-one end portion of the body shank, a jaw carried by said slidableshank,

a handle pivotally connected with and closing the other end of the body shank, means yieldably urging the-sliding shank to movement into the body shank, said shanks being provided with opposite clutch portions,

preventing relative movement of.

and a member connected with the handle 3 for movement thereby and cooperating with said clutch. portions to hold the shanks against relative movement upon movement ofxthe handle in one direction.

'7. A wrench comprising a tubular body shank having. its inner surface provided.

with a longitudinal groove, a jaw carried.

bysaid shank, aashank slidable in the .tu-

bular body shank, a jaw carried bysaid slidable shank, a handle pivotally connected with the outer end portion of the body shank, an arm extending from the handle through the groove'of the body shank, a clutch roller carried by said arm, and opposed clutch faces on said shanks jengage able by said roller to prevent relative move- 1 ment ofthe shanks upon pivotal movement of the handle in one direction.

8. A wrench comp-rising a tubular body shank having its inner surface provided with a longitudinal groove, a jaw carried by said shank, a shank slidable in the tubular body shank, a jaw carried by said .slidable shank, a handle pivotally connected with the outer end portion of the body shank, a spring arm extending from the handle through the groove of the body shank, a clutch roller carried by said arm,

and opposed clutch faces on said shanks engageable by said roller to prevent relative movement of the shanks upon pivotal movement of the handle in 'one direction.'

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

FRANK s. RAToLIirFE; 

